The effect of Epley maneuver in the treatment of elderly patients with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

Background: Studies show that Vestibular rehabilitation is an important option in the treatment BPPV that is common in elderly. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of Epley maneuver on vertigo symptoms in elderly patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Methods: This cross-sectional-analytic study was performed from May 2007 to February 2010 on 67 patients (29 female, 38 male) aged 61-75 with BPPV who referred to Audiology Clinic of Shahid Beheshti University Rehabilitation Center. Epley maneuver with movement restriction was performed for treatment after diagnosis of BPPV and one week later, results evaluated with Dix-Hallpike test. The collected data were analyzed employing t-test and SPSS 15 software.

Results: The average age of the patients was 67.28 ± 4.5 years. Epley maneuver caused normal Hallpike findings in 47 patients (70.1 %) and noticeable reduction in nystagmus amplitudes in 15 patients (22.38%). There was a statistically significant correlation between nystagmus amplitudes and DHI scores (P-Valu=0.018)

Conclusion: Epley maneuver plays an important role in reducing vertigo in at-risk elderly patients.